Welcome to Echoing the Sound. You'll find that quite a few things have changed here since the last iteration of the board so be sure to check out the FAQ. This is a completely fresh start - You'll need to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed (and look for the registration email in your spam folder). To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

He was invited to perform on The Tonight Show in 1962, but Gregory said he wouldn't go unless he was able to sit down next to host Jack Paar after his routine and be interviewed. A black performer had never done that before.

"I went in, and as I sat on the couch, talking about my children, so many people called the switchboard at NBC in New York that the circuits blew out," he said. "And thousands of letters came in and folks were saying, 'I didn't know black children and white children were the same.'"

After the Tonight Show appearance, Gregory noted that his salary jumped from $250 for seven nights of work (three shows a night) at the Playboy Club to $5,000 a night. "And the next year and a half, I made $3.9 million," he said. "That is the power."

His major break came in 1961 when he was spotted by Playboy founder Hugh Hefner performing at a Chicago nightclub.

The gig included what is now one of Gregory’s best-known jokes: “Last time I was down South, I walked into this restaurant. This white waitress came up and said, ‘We don’t serve colored people here.’ I said, ‘That’s all right. I don’t eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.’”

Jerry Lewis and Dick Gregory. 2 men who made the world laugh and actually gave a shit about people. Jerry hosted telethons to help children and Dick stood up for the rights of his fellow brothers and sisters.

I just watched The King of Comedy just now for the very first time. Great film and Lewis is great as usual. He and Gregory are true kings of comedy and philanthropy. We will miss them.

Ive always been confused with the whole Poltergiest situation...I don't know whether to see it as a Tobe Hooper film or a Steven Spielberg film...

Apparently Tobe Hooper had a breakdown on set and Steven Spielberg took over on the down low because of his contract with E.T...with Poltergeist you can see two different films..

I think its 60 percent Tobe Hooper 40 Percent Spielberg..there is a really horrific Tobe Hooper side, mixed with with the commercial family friendly Spielberg side...its a really odd film, its like two different directors competing. I cant believe it was PG movie
either way I think its one of the best film of the 80s..

And Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the best psychological horror movies of all time, I love how it undermines its title. I always thought he could have been as big as Spielberg or James Cameron or Ridley Scott etc after Poltergeist but his career nose dived. he was an underrated director

A true legend. Wein touched so many important books across both DC & Marvel. My friend was his nurse at Cedars Sinai in LA few years back and got his autograph for me. Said he couldn't have been a nicer person.

urgh...Husker Du were ahead of their time, I loved that band...1990s music would be very different if Husker Du never existed, Pixies, Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, Greenday, Swervedriver all cited Husker Du as major influence.

had Zen Arcade come out in 1994 instead of 1984 it would have sold millions. However Candy Apple Grey was always my favourite.